Mistletoe
by zosimos
Summary: The Twelve Days of Ficmas, Day 02: Roy goes "grocery shopping," comes home with a little bit extra. Roy/Ed, Nightbreed AU.


Edward was sitting sprawled on the sofa when Roy returned. It was barely past midnight - another benefit of the holiday season was that the stores were open to ridiculous hours. It was a fact that made their lives slightly easier, at least for this month. He had had a spate of errands to run - one of the few vampires Roy had contact with ran the overnight security at a hospital. She was the underground blood bag dealer for most of the vampire community - or at least, those that sustained themselves of the not-so-fresh bags of blood instead of hunting live prey.

Roy had to pick up his "order" for the month. That was one of the few errands he would not allow Edward to assist him with. Edward never quarreled about it - especially not when the kid had left a new game in the console. That would keep Edward occupied for a long enough time that he likely did not even notice that Roy was gone.

Their apartment was slowly getting furnished. Roy was so used to living in the bed, or sitting on the floor or leaning against the walls that it was strange for there to be actual furniture in their home. Edward always seemed to like to just pick up and go, possessions be damned - but he had started to be more particular, to make the apartments that they lived in seem more and more like a home. Roy suspected that Edward was doing this not out of a change of heart but specifically for Roy, to provide him with a home and happier memories. Edward's concern for him was touching.

At the moment, though, Edward was completely distracted by whatever was on his television screen. He was rapidly pressing buttons and muttering obscenities mostly under his breath, around the end of a plastic fork he had been chewing on. It looked like he had not even moved since Roy left barely after sundown.

Roy was locking the door behind him, prepared to take the small, over-the-shoulder cooler full of blood bags into the kitchen when Edward spoke nonchalantly. "You smell like the outside."

That was unexpected. Roy hesitated a moment, trying to figure out what Edward meant by this - and then shrugged, lugging the cooler into the kitchen. "I've been _outside_, that's to be expected. Please tell me you haven't been sitting in the same spot for the last six hours, Ed."

"That's not what I meant." The steady symphony of buttons clacking did not let up. "You smell … _different_. Woodsy. Where'd you go?"

Roy slid the blood bags into the fridge, sorting them by date and trying to figure out how to respond to that. "Well, I went to the hospital," he said, backtracking his night. "And by the bar, I might be able to pick up a few shifts as a bouncer - don't you dare laugh at that."

He could hear Edward snorting from the living room. "You, a bouncer?"

"I could break a man in half in my sleep, Ed."

"Don't I know it." Edward's voice was sultry a moment, then he laughed. "You're just such a weak vampire that I forget normal people don't have jack shit on you." Edward called the last part in a sing-song voice, and Roy frowned at the blood bags in his hand. He closed the fridge door and stopped in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room.

"Do you really think that I'm weak?"

"What? Nah. If you were weak you'd've succumbed to the blood sickness, I'm just fuckin' with ya." Edward bit down on the plastic fork he was chewing on, causing it to stand up. He had yet to take his eyes off of the television screen. After a long moment of Roy being silent, he paused his game and glanced over. "Jeez, are your feelings hurt?"

Roy did not want to admit to it. "No."

"They are." Edward got up off of the couch, and then hesitated, a strange expression crossing his face. He stretched his arms out, arcing his back and cracking it loudly enough that it made Roy wince. "Better," Edward grunted. Now he crossed the room to where Roy was standing, and Edward slung his arms over Roy's shoulders and butted Roy's forehead with his own. "Sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. What's wrong, shit talk doesn't usually faze you."

Roy really did not know. He always felt a bit down around the holidays - this was his third with Edward, and while he could remember the emotions of the time of the year as clear as a bell, any other actual memories were gone. It was such a sentimental, nostalgic time of the year it affected him soundly.

Edward was different than he was. He seemed to be indifferent to the holidays … he had told Roy the first year that they were together that in the wolf packs they did not celebrate most holidays. They had their own sacred dates and celebrations. Edward's interest in the other holidays was negligible - except for the discounted alcohol.

Edward cocked his head, frowning, as he looked into Roy's eyes. Then he inhaled deeply, and leaned forward farther. Roy tilted his head back as Edward smelled him. "What have you GOT, that smells like trees-" he muttered, sniffing.

Roy had forgotten already. On his way back from the hospital, he had been the only one waiting for the bus at a small bus stop in front of a lot full of Christmas trees. It was a slow night - still weeks until the holiday itself, and the owner was standing near the bus stop. He had chatted amiably with Roy until the bus arrived. Vampires exuded a natural charisma that, when people noticed them, made them completely unafraid to approach. If Roy did not want to be approached people did not, but if he was not actually skulking he did not care if people came up and started a conversation with him. It was something that Edward was constantly amazed at, how people - his prey - came _willingly_ to him.

He stuck his hand into his coat and withdrew a slightly-crushed bough of mistletoe. "I seem to forget that you are such a _dog_," he said as Edward cocked his head and wrinkled his nose at the suddenly magnified scent of the leaves.

"Mistletoe? Why do you have that, isn't that, like, poisonous to vampires?" Edward asked.

"What? I've never heard that before." Roy certainly had not had any ill effects from carrying it around; although now that the thought had been planted in his head it was starting to make his bare hand itchy.

"Yeah. Something about … dunno, arrows made out of mistletoe or something." Edward took a step back, one hand on his chin as he thought about this.

It clicked for Roy first. "Are you thinking about Norse mythology again, Ed?"

"Maybe? Probably. I dunno." Edward shrugged. "Anyway, what are you doing with it?"

"Seriously?"

"...yeah?" Edward eyed him. "What?"

"You're not yanking my chain right now."

"Eh, it's some sort of Christmas thing, right? I see mistletoe decorations - don't look at me like that, Mustang, you know I don't pay attention to that shit." Edward was starting to step away when Roy held the mistletoe out, above his head and grabbed Edward's shirt with his free hand. Edward did not even have time to yelp as Roy yanked him forward and kissed him soundly.

He struggled initially, more out of surprise than the lack of desire to kiss Roy. That quickly changed, and when they eventually parted they were panting, breathing hard into each other's mouths and Edward's fork lying forgotten on the floor between them where it fell. "THAT," Edward gasped. "THAT is a Christmas thing?"

"Mmhm," Roy said. He lowered his arm slowly, but Edward grabbed his wrist and held it aloft, kissing him again soundly, his tongue venturing into the deepest parts of Roy's mouth.

Edward sighed contentedly against Roy. "I like this tradition. We can keep this one."

"Good," Roy said, nuzzling against his cheek. "But can we put the mistletoe on the door or something before we continue it? My arm's getting tired."

* * *

><p>Promises to Keep - Prompt 02: "Mistletoe"<p> 


End file.
